Warren Buffett-backed Nu Holdings launches US high-yield accounts
Latin American digital banking giant Nu Holdings has entered the US market, offering 3.50% APY deposit accounts and credit cards through Lead Bank.
American retail savers looking for better returns on their cash have a new, deep-pocketed option to consider. On September 10, 2026, Latin American digital banking giant Nu Holdings officially launched its operations in the United States, rolling out a high-yield deposit account paying a 3.50% annual percentage yield (APY) alongside a fee-free credit card offering unlimited 1.5% cashback.
The expansion marks the first consumer banking move outside Latin America for São Paulo, Brazil-headquartered Nu Holdings, which operates under the consumer brand Nubank. Backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, the fintech disruptor has grown to serve over 140 million customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. By entering the highly competitive US market, the company is directly challenging domestic neobanks and traditional branch-based lenders.
To facilitate the immediate launch of its US products, Nu Holdings has partnered with Kansas City-based Lead Bank, an institution insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). This partner-bank model ensures that customer deposits are FDIC-insured while the company awaits final regulatory clearance to operate independently. Nu Holdings previously secured preliminary conditional approval for a US national bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on January 29, 2026.
Stablecoins and Cross-Border Transfers
Alongside its standard US banking suite, the digital lender introduced "Nu Global," a multi-currency digital account designed for cross-border transactions. The account allows users to convert deposits into dollar-pegged (USDC) or euro-pegged (EURC) stablecoins, yielding 3.50% and 2.20% APY respectively. It also supports fee-free transfers across more than 35 countries, initially focusing on corridors connecting the US, Europe, and Latin America.
The aggressive US expansion is funded by a highly profitable core business. In its second-quarter financial results released in August 2026, Nu Holdings reported a record quarterly net income of $1.06 billion, crossing the $1 billion profit threshold for the first time. While European digital banks like Revolut have historically struggled to secure US banking charters, Nu Holdings is leveraging its massive scale and a board chaired by Roberto Campos Neto, the former president of the Central Bank of Brazil, to ease its regulatory path.
The company's US leadership, headed by co-founder Cristina Junqueira, expects its fully chartered domestic bank, Nubank N.A., to begin independent operations in 2027 once final approvals from the Federal Reserve and the FDIC are secured.
In your brokerage app
Nu Holdings is listed in New York on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker NU. The company is widely held by major exchange-traded funds targeting global fintech and emerging markets, and it remains a notable holding in Berkshire Hathaway's equity portfolio.